Sunday, June 16, 2013

It's tough at the side

The first part of Betty Page's interview in the 12th July 1980 issue of Sounds.

Honesty And Feeling With Smelly Feet

The Distractions
tell Betty Page: "It’s tough at the side!”

So there I was,
sitting as comfortably as the bass drum beneath me would allow, my delicate
pink stilettos vying for space with be-gaffa’d mike stands and towels in the
back of an airless Transit van with a pop group. The things I could tell you
about being on the road! Well, for ten minutes, anyway, sharing this most
salubrious mode of transport with The Distractions, currently
touring-to-promote-the-album and on their way to checking in at a local
mid-priced guest house to match their current mid-successful status.

Mike Finney, lead crooner, variously
described as bank clerk / accountant / friendly uncle, and Steve Perrin-Brown,
half of guitar duo and often dubbed boy-next-doorish, bemoan the general lack
of ackers. “I bet Grace Jones (Island label-matess) doesn’t have to travel in
the back of a van. Perhaps she’s a highly-skilled welder, though. I’d look
after her leopards if she’d mend my car!"

Reality dispels dreams of Amazons with the
thought of Terry’s Guest House’s scrambled eggs (apparently resembling grey
armadillos) and the next gig, at the Fulham Greyhound, local London pub testing
ground.

The Distractions aren’t often stuck in a
fantasy. Despite the constant championing by the press with the accompany
shower of superlatives, they realise they have a long way to go yet. Deemed by
many to be akin to a slowly maturing wine, the time for uncorking the bottle
has yet to come. Back in ’78 our own Mick Middles described their snail paced
crawl to success" as essential, and that a hit single then would’ve done
some harm. Two years hence, the situation seems to have reversed. Do these
particular molluscs have their target in sight?

Mike: “At the time it was true, but I
agree, the situation has reversed and we would like a hit single. We’re the
only pop group that doesn’t sell records.”

Steve: “It’s art – it must be if we’re
working, not having any commercial success but getting critical acclaim. We’ve
still got a lot more snail pacing to go; it’s a very ill snail and it can be a
lethargic snail too.”

Has the media overkill done any damage?

Steve: “I don’t think it’s harmful.
They’re not treating us like The Police. To be honest it’s the only thing that
got us out of Manchester – it’s done us nothing but good.”

I mentioned the danger of media darlings
being doomed to cult status, but Steve was convinced this was no bad thing:
he’d prefer true appreciation rather than vague interest. But from hit records
comes forth manna, something you don’t get too much of being a bunch of cults.